Particulate matter and ground-level ozone remain important air pollutants in Europe. Despite improvements due to EU legislation, they continue to have a heavy toll on human health especially in southern and eastern Europe. Two reports released today by the European Environment Agency (EEA) shed light on Europe’s air quality.

One in four Europeans endured many days of frequent and high
concentrations of particulate matter (PM10) in 2005,
according to the EEA technical report "Spatial assessment
of PM10 and ozone concentrations in Europe (2005)". In
addition to these daily peaks above EU thresholds, one in ten Europeans
was exposed throughout the year to persistent PM10 levels
higher than the EU’s annual mean limit.

Across the EU, PM10 is estimated to have caused
approximately 373 000 premature deaths in 2005. Large areas of eastern
Europe and the Po Valley in northern Italy but also parts of the
Balkans, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal
and Spain were particularly likely to record daily levels above the
limit, especially in more urbanized environments. Urban areas of the
Balkans, the Czech Republic, Hungary, southern Poland and southern
Spain were especially likely to report excessive levels throughout the
year.

The report records similar findings for ground-level ozone, with
more than a third of the European population exposed to ozone levels
higher than the EU’s target value. Health impacts of ozone appear to be
lower than those of PM10, ranging from 75 premature deaths
per million inhabitants (for south-eastern and southern Europe) to less
than 10 per million (northern and north-western Europe) in 2005.

Number of ozone episodes down but…

The second technical report "Air pollution by
ozone across Europe during summer 2008" asserts that, by several
measures, ozone levels during last summer were the lowest since
Europe-wide reporting began in 1997. Nevertheless, all EU Member States
and eight other European countries exceeded the long-term objectives
set by EU legislation.

With measurements of 399 and 302 μg per cubic metre, the highest
one-hour concentrations were recorded in Lazio region in Italy. Several
measuring stations in Belgium, Greece, Italy, Spain and Switzerland
also reported high concentrations of between 240 and 300 μg per cubic
metre.